Oogie's Little Monsters
by Memorylane1
Summary: What if Lock, Shock, and Barrel (AKA "Boogie's boys) had grown up? Follow them, and Jack's son Jason, as they struggle with friendships, and the reality of growing up in Halloween town.
1. Siblings

Oogie was mad again. Which meant Lock and Shock were taking refuge under the old tub; again. Barrel was gone. He usually just wandered out now days. It wasn't as though anyone noticed another mask floating through the street, and even risking Jack was better than staying near an angry Oogie Boogie. Jack would sometimes send you back with a warning; with Oogie, you knew what you were going to get. Another cage bounced up the pipe and slammed into the side of the tub, rocking it back and almost hitting the brim of Shock's hat. She flinched as her brother's horns were pushed closer to her before nudging him.

"Lock. Go look out and see what it is." she demanded, her voice not rising above a whisper. He turned to her, red faced, and hissed back. "I did it last time. You do it." his tail twitched unhappily. She shoved him into the side of the tub and he bite back a loud curse. If Oogie heard he might remember they existed and he was still sore from the last time he'd let it happen.

If Shock hadn't jumped in front of him... Well, the dice hadn't been rolling in his favor. And the last Gunman had been awfully close. It was only for her he hadn't left with Barrel. He didn't want her to think he was ungrateful. Even though, he noted, he'd taken more than a few hits for her when they were younger, and it was past time she returned the favor.

He pushed her back and she yelped. They both froze. The music below played on, the record skipping back to the last three bars over and over. He'd call them to fix it when he noticed, but no responding yell from Oogie meant it had covered the sound.

He looked out from the curled up corner of tub and saw the cage. It had landed in front of them in a way that suggested aim, and there was a terrified beetle inside. He felt a shiver run up his back. That was never a good sign. He yanked his head back and looked over at an expectant Shock.

"Well?" she whispered. Only Shock could make a whisper sound demanding. "It was still full." he said. She winced.

"Oh scream. That'll mean he'll want someone to play with soon." she stated. They looked at each other. Then at the wall of the tub. Then at each other again.

"I'll-"

"Go." Lock finished her sentence automatically and then shook his head. She was still his sister. No matter how much he hated her.

"I'll do it. You went last week." He winced as the words left his mouth. She'd done it last week; he'd done it three days ago. She opened her mouth to reply when another CLANG sounded against the tub. It was louder this time and the tub shivered and kicked it's legs in protest.

"**Lock! Shock! Barrel!**" Oogie's voice was louder than it had been the last time he'd shouted a few minutes ago. "**Come on down!**" His voice had the booming tone, that made it almost sound musical, that meant he was out for blood. They both lifted up an edge of the tub and peeked out. Barrel was still nowhere to be seen. Lock wasn't sure if that was good or bad right now.

"We're going to have to go." Shock grimaced; an expression that doubled as her smile. Lock nodded and they flipped the tub over and stood up.

Oogie's singing was louder now, and definitely closer. They both rushed to hide their masks behind the crates. Oogie didn't like the masks.

As soon as they were done; Lock rapped the pipes with his knuckle and Shock stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a glass breaking whistle. Oogie laughed and they heard the pipes pop as he slid back down. They hopped into the old passages in the usual order. Lock first, then Shock, and sometimes if they were lucky Barrel. They'd worked it out over the last few years. Barrel was last since he'd started jumping in at the last second; barely escaping their father's wrath. And after Shock had really started growing up; Lock'd taken the lead with only a few half-hearted protests.

After Jack'd split his seams, Oogie hadn't been all there. Or even mostly there. Sometimes not even in the neighborhood, kind of crazy. But when he wanted to, he'd remember things. Mostly things like, how he never _OFFICIALLY_ adopted them. Or more specifically Shock. It always made Lock uneasy, and slightly jealous, to see how he followed the witch around the casino, his beady eyes never leaving her. Oogie's attention was rarely on him despite his best efforts. So he'd taken the front and the few seconds distraction it offered.

They landed in the flash of multicolored lights. Oogie'd set the whole arena up today; the full line of gunmen were out and the center wheel was spinning. A pair of dice hit Lock's feet and went flying back into Oogie's waiting hands. Lock kept his grin straight, or at least wickedly crooked, as he landed; sliding forward so Shock wouldn't hit him on her way out.

"Lock!" he called out and stood to attention in front of the pipe as the slight gust that accompanied the second person landing ruffled the tips of his bright red hair.

"AND SHOCK!" The tip of her hat popped out of the tub with a clink. Oogie's black eyes shimmered and Lock felt a sense of relief that he was blocking most of his view. Unfortunately, Shock had always been the taller one. They both slid to opposite sides on the off chance Barrel was sliding down after them and chanted.

"At your service!" They both threw up their arms in a dramatic pose. Lock sighed inwardly, the motion, the whole act, was childish. He could imagine what the Swamp Girls would say if they could see it. 'The GREAT Lock! Waving his arms like a five year old! How brave!' he blushed lightly, thankful for the poor lighting.

He secretly hated it when they teased him, even though he _knew _they liked him. He couldn't see how they could _Not_; with his devilishly good looks, and his ability to out-mischief the best of them. Thankfully Oogie didn't seem to notice either of the siblings; his attention was on the pipe, waiting for Barrel.

"**Were's your Brother!?**" he boomed and spun to face Lock. Lock gaped for a second, trying to come up with an explanation when Shock stepped forward.

"I... Uh... Sent him to get more bugs for you," she paused as her foster father swung around to face her. His expression was stuck between anger and interest, and Lock saw her shiver. Lock's grin twisted up as he realized he should have said it instead of letting all their father's attention drift to her. Oogie never paid him enough attention.

"Sir." she added. That did it. Oogie grinned, mouth pulling away to reveal vibrating strings and brightly colored insects. It wasn't a pretty sight. He sidled over to her and batted her chin with one of his hands. She turned to face him without dropping her practiced smile.

"**Why! Aren't you being a Good little girl!**" he yanked her forward and Lock trailed along after them as he pulled her through the maze of slots and knives.

"We do our best." She choked out as he set her back down. Lock slid up next to her and nodded hard. Oogie looked up at him and he felt a little hope creep in. Maybe he'd let them off this time. Maybe he'd even let Lock play one of the slots.

"**You do! You do!**" Oogie grabbed onto one of the nearby skeletons and two new dice rolled out. He kept them firmly tucked in his hand. He looked straight at Lock. "**Now go find him! I want to CONGRATULATE you all!**" he boomed. Lock felt the hope grow and he nodded almost stabbing Shock with his horns. If dad wanted him to get Barrel, he'd get Barrel! And he'd get him Better than Shock could have!

"Yes Sir Mr. Oogie Boogie! Sir!" and then he ran up the rope ladder and out to the pumpkin field. As soon as he reached the top he realized what he'd just done. He'd just left his sister alone with the boogieman.

* * *

"I should go help him." Shock offered. Her voice was strong, or at least barely quavering. Oogie laughed and bounced the dice in his hands.  
"**No. He'll be JUST fine sweet cheeks.**" Oogie leaned closer and she forced herself not to pull away as the smell of rot hit her. He whispered, "**I'll deal with him. Later.**" His voice still hadn't lost the musical quality, she noticed.

It was funny how she noticed everything when she was scared. Like how close they were to the vats of acid. Or how much of an idiot her brother was. She didn't blame him, not really, he couldn't help that he was an attention seeking moron. And she honestly hoped Oogie wouldn't hurt him, at least not too badly. It was usually easier to keep him happy when there was at least one uninjured person to help. And Lock complained when he got a cut making paper bats.

She didn't think she could stand the wining if Oogie actually hit him.

Sometimes it felt like he was the girl of the family. After all she hadn't complained about her arm once last month, when the acid had splashed and hit her. Even though every time she'd moved, the long sleeves she'd worn to cover it had rubbed.

She really was close to those vats...

Oogie noticed her eyes drifting away from him and grabbed her chin, harder this time, yanking her until she was looking at him. "**Now Girly!**" he boomed. She winced; he still hadn't used her name. He only avoided it when Lock and Barrel were gone, and he was trying to forget she was his daughter. **"Don't you know better than to LIE to me!**" he yanked her closer and her feet left the ground. No one else in Halloween town could do that anymore. She nodded desperately, trying not to let the grin disappear. He dropped her and she collapsed onto the floor, legs folding under her like a gymnast to slow the drop. She'd had a lot of practice falling lately.

"**Good!**" he turned around and threw the dice into the nearest skulls. They rolled out the eyes and bounced to her feet. One and two. She let out her breath, one away. Oogie snarled as he read it.

Then he stepped forwards and slapped her in the face hard and fast.

One. Two. Three. Crack! Crack! Crack!

She gritted her teeth as the blows knocked her head backwards, but managed not to scream. Screaming was a VERY bad idea.

"**I thought I told YOU to keep an eye on him! Didn't I?!**" he demanded. She shook her head quickly and his cloth hand smacked into her face again, catching her around the eye. "**DIDN'T I**!" she scrambled backwards and stood up.

"Yes! You did!" She screamed. Her hands rushed to her mouth to try to shove the words back in, but they had already escaped into the air. He stepped forwards and pulled his arms around her. Crushing her against him until she could barely breathe.

"**And do you know what happens when you disobey me?**" he asked, like it was a normal question. Like he was listening to what she said. Shock shivered, and he slid his lowest hand further down her back. "**I asked, if you know what happens when you disobey me little Girl?**" his voice was still low. She didn't move. His other hand grabbed her hair and yanked it backwards. She bit through the scab making up the inside if her lip to keep from screaming. His free hand continued it's decent.

"Let me go Oogie. Dad." she made her voice sound confident. Like any other teenager in Halloween Town. His hand stopped. He growled.

"**I AM NOT YOUR FATHER! I NEVER SAID I WAS YOUR FATHER**!" and he yanked back on her hair again. This time she let out a tiny scream. The witch hat tilted dangerously on the back of her head, about to fall. She continued.

"Let me go. Okay? We can play a game. Poker." She tried to glance behind to where the table was. He liked poker. Most days. She remembered when he'd taught her how to deal.

He brought his low hand closer to his body, pulling her with it and chuckled as she twisted in his grip. She managed to plant the back if her foot into his toe before she remembered he'd forbidden heels. He kept on pushing her closer until she couldn't breathe and then he started laughing. She started slamming her hands against him, and he laughed harder. A big booming laugh that echoed across the room. Lights started to flash in her eyes and she flailed harder, trying to get away, as she realized he still wasn't letting go.

And then, the record skipped back on track.

His face lit up and his grip immediately released. He grabbed her hands and swung her around to the tune before throwing her behind a glowing table along with a pack of cards.

"**Your deal beautiful!**" he laughed as he swung along the room to the beat. The lights flickered as the gunman fired into the back wall on cue. She pulled out the cards like they were made of eggshells and ran the deck across her arm as she shuffled. She waited until his back was to her to breath again, hoping he wouldn't remember what had just happened. He usually didn't, rarely more than a few seconds of what he'd done, but sometimes...

She ruffled the pieces of paper through her fingers and tried to ignore the blood dripping down her mouth.

She liked cards. You knew where you were with cards. An ace rolled up her sleeve. And best of all; Cards were easy to cheat. She watched as her father danced around the lit up room and wished she'd never grown up. Things had been so much easier when she was seven.

* * *

Barrel was bored. He'd eaten the pumpkin patch clean and that'd helped for a while but; now he was bored again. Barrel didn't like being bored, it was, well, boring. So he'd made his way back to the woods and his latest project.

He liked this one, and it was mostly finished. The ground was littered around it with cages and odd parts he'd taken to make it. Oogie wouldn't care that they were gone. He would probably even give him a pat on the back for making it.

It was a cat-a-pult. When he'd finished with it, he was going to launch whatever he felt like at Halloween town. And if he was in a bad mood, it'd probably be on fire. He smiled. Barrel liked setting things on fire. Setting things on fire was Fun, unlike his siblings.

"BARREL!" Lock's voice echoed through the woods causing him to wince. Speak of the devil boy... It wasn't Barrel's fault they couldn't deal with their father, any more than it was his fault be was Oogie's favorite. He considered ducking into the bushes but Lock would probably break the launcher if he found it unguarded. He waddled out to the main path as his brother passed.

"Over here genius." Barrel threw his last pumpkin at the back of Lock's head. Unfortunately, Barrel had even less aim than Lock had brains. The pumpkin feel short by a several feet and exploded on the sidewalk splattering them both with goo. Lock yelled and ran at him. Barrel instinctively stepped away and straight into Lock's arms. He grabbed him like a football and kept running.

"LET ME GO!" Barrel screamed.

"No you little jerk!" Lock yelled back. "Oogie sent _me_ to get you!" He said 'Me' like it was a prize. He usual did when it came to helping the old sack. Barrel kicked his chubby legs behind them. He didn't like being carried like a football, despite how often Lock and Shock used to throw him like one.

"At least let me walk!" he hissed. Lock shook his head.

"You're slow! I don't want to keep him waiting." Barrel sighed and let Lock run. He didn't really feel like walking all the way back anyway.  
After they cleared the woods and the old Graveyard it got boring being carried. So Barrel bit him. That was fun even if Lock did taste like soot. He screamed even louder than the ghouls.

* * *

Barrel went flying down the hole that led to the basement, cursing at Lock all the way. He landed with a splatting sound and before he could get up, Lock landed on him. He made a satisfying yelp when the devil boy's tail stabbed him. It served him right. His arm was still sore from where Barrel's teeth had left a mark.

He stood up and looked around brushing away the cloud of dust and insect legs that the falling Barrel had landed in. Barrel rolled away from him and sat forwards.

"Oogie! Lock sat on me!" the round boy yelled. "I found him!" Lock echoed; prodding him with an elbow.

"I should have sliced you up and left you there." he whispered. Barrel stuck out his green tongue. The music had righted itself again and Shock, or at least her hat, was clearly illuminated across the room with their Father. He turned around and waved them over.

"**Barrel!**" he bellowed. Barrel ran towards the two and Lock raced after beaming. He didn't really care where either of his siblings were, but he did care about what Oogie thought. His dad wasn't easy to please but that never stopped him from trying. He stood to attention beaming as Oogie looked them over. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed his sister ducking out from the table and sliding next to him.

"**Where were you?**" Oogie asked as he leaned over and inspected Barrel. "He was in the woods sir!" Lock offered, not bothering to hide his jealousy at their fathers one-sided concern.

"I was making a launcher thing." Barrel added. Oogie nodded and straightened up.

"**Good! Does it work?**" he asked. Barrel nodded. Oogie beamed. **"Take whatever you need from upstairs then!**"

"I already did." Barrel stated. Oogie laughed and ruffled the boy's perfect hair, as soon as his hand moved it settled back to it's normal position.

"**That's my boy!**"

Barrel grinned and Lock would have smacked him if he could get away with it.

"I did a good job too. Didn't I?" Lock added hopefully. Barrel snickered and Oogie tore himself away from the young boy long enough to nod.

"**Yes, of course.**" He added before swinging his arm around Barrel. Shock's pointed elbow jabbed Lock in the side. He glanced over, careful not to turn his head away.

"Pushover." Shock whispered. Lock's face turned bright red, until it matched his hair.

"I am not!" he snarled and she giggled at him.

"Sure... And I'm not a the smartest either." She fidgeted for a second as Oogie cooed over her round brother. For some reason Lock kept thinking of the vampires as he looked at her, and then he realized a thin trail of blood was flowing down her chin. She reached up and wiped it away a second later. He tried not to think about it.

"You wanna go break it after they forget we're here?" she asked. He snarled and turned to her.

"You can't steal my idea!" his face turned bright red and a thin trail of smoke floated out of his ears. He hadn't thought of it, but there was no way he was going to let Shock take credit for a good idea. Especially one like that. She smirked.

"Too late!" she stated. Then he shoved her. It caught her off balance and she tipped over one of the skulls. At the last second she grabbed his sleeve and he fell with her. She punched him in the eye as they fell and he planted hid knee in her stomach. They struggled against each other and finally Lock kicked away and they both jumped up. He managed to lunge first but she ducked under it and he caught the middle of her witch hat instead.

Without quite thinking about what he was, doing he shoved it off. The purple hat hit the floor as she slid under his arm. Lock whirled around to face her.

And suddenly he realized just how much taller Shock was. And that she was running towards him with an expression that would have put Jack to shame.

And screaming.

Oogie and Barrel were watching by now but Lock was unable to pry his eyes away from the screaming fury running at him long enough to notice.

Around three seconds later; Lock was about an inch from frying alive in the vats. Shock's hands were twisted around his head and shoving it down as she straddled him. He bucked and tried to throw her off but for the first time in his memory she was stronger. A new trail of blood was flowing down her chin as she snarled. Her hand shoved him down a centimeter farther and he froze as the tips of his hair started to fizzle in the frying acid.

Suddenly there was a hiss as the flash of purple felt flew over her back. She rolled off him and lunged, slamming the hat back on her head. Lock jerked back up but she didn't even turn around.

Oogie's booming laugh echoed through the chamber, hand still extended from tossing it, and Barrel was wholeheartedly eating the lollipop that he produced out of nowhere whenever he felt interested. Oogie swept them both around the assortment of cages and skulls and instead of helping the shivering boy, he swung his arm around the snarling witch's stomach and lifted her up and placed her next to him.

"**Easy Shock! Easy!**" he laughed and she flailed halfheartedly before letting him pick her up. They turned around and Lock shoved himself up growling. A thin trail of fire shot out of his mouth as his Father wandered away.

He hated his siblings! He hated Shock! It was always her that Oogie favored. Sure Barrel got away with everything, but he never went out of his way to get their fathers attention. It was Lock that was going to inherit the title of Boogieman when Oogie retired. He was going to make sure of it. And then he could get his stupid witch sister back. But today he was going to smash the thing in the woods. Before she could.


	2. The Skeleton's son

It was nearly impossible to sneak out when you lived in a room like Lock, Shock and Barrels. This was because the beds had been positioned to make getting up without someone knowing about as likely as Jack and Oogie becoming best friends. Each was almost across from each other, so that if any of them sat up, they could instantly see who was in the room.

Barrel was gone, but neither Shock, or Lock really cared. He'd taken his Skeleton mask, which he wore whenever he went into town, so at worst they could search for him there, but they rarely needed to. If they were lucky he'd come back before morning, or if they were even more lucky; he wouldn't.

And now Lock was trying to sneak past her which was both funny and exactly like him. Despite the horns, he was one of the least devious people Shock had ever met. He had good ideas, especially when it came to hurting people, but when it came time to actually do it he was hopeless.

She waited for the creaks of protest from the floor and the stream of curses that accompany each to die down before getting up. She didn't have anything in the way of pajamas, at least none she was welling to wear if Oogie decided he was hungry in the middle of the night, so the witch dress had become long ago become a permanent fixture.

It went without saying the hat stayed. Period.

She sprinted across the floor, grabbed the witch mask, and one quick jump later, was trailing across the pumpkin patch after him.

In the woods she found Lock by the loud grumbles coming from the bushes and the bright red tail swinging out.

"So. I take it you have no idea where Barrel's toy is?" she asked. He rolled over and scrambled back to the path. Unlike his sister he had pajamas, probably due to how little Oogie needed him at three in the morning, and he was wearing them. A lose pair of redish jeans practically swallowed his waist and were only held up by a red belt. Even then the edges sagged around his thin hip bones. It matched with the black shirt, and a bright red skull that was nearly the shade of his hair, or probably would, if he ever bothered to wash it.

There were leaves sticking out of one of the skulls eyes and the black made his skin look even paler than usual, in a way normally left to Vampires, or certain paints. She tried unsuccessfully not to giggle as his eyes doubled in size. He looked ridiculous.

"Shock? What the!" he screamed and then cursed as his carefully combed horn hit a branch. "No. I'm just... Sneaking up on him." he glared, daring her to disagree. She laughed.

"I'd try the Barrel shaped hole across the pathway." she pointed, the way you would with a slow four year old. He spun around and his eyes widened again as he noticed the break in the bushes, littered with pumpkin stems, that their brother had clearly rolled through. "Oh. Yeah. Well I was getting there!" He added as he pulled out leaves from his hair and t-shirt.

"Actually that was last weeks project." Barrels whiny voice chirped behind them. They both spun around and Barrel laughed. "Come on, I'm going to try it!" He popped back behind the bushes and Shock shrugged.

"It couldn't be any worse-" she offered.

"Than staying here-" Lock added

"With you peabrains!" Barrel's voice cut in. They nodded and ran after him. Sometimes he had a point.

Shock managed to slip through without stabbing herself on anything, mostly by staying behind Lock who practically impaled himself every time he moved, despite the path Barrel had attempted to make. Luckily it was a short trail, and as the pathway widened and she saw the corners of Lock's grin stretch out from behind his mask to the sides of his face. She shoved him aside and saw Barrel's toy. Her mouth very carefully did not fall open.

It was one of the most evil looking things she had ever seen in her life. An assortment of small edges and wire stuck out already rusting, looking as though they were about to snake out and stab you. A small cage was set open towards them, and she could follow a single line of wood back up into the machine before it was engulfed by masses of sharp objects. On the side in bright orange spray paint was a pumpkin.

"Wow." Lock said awe filling his voice. Shock nodded. It was the most horrifying thing she had ever seen. And her little brother had made it. She couldn't remember being more proud.

Barrel's mask couldn't hide the fire in his eyes as he turned back from his creation.

"I call it a Cat-A-Pult." he pointed to a heap of large rocks and rotting pumpkins beside it, which Shock had immediately assumed was a trash pile, the type of which tended to spring up around Barrel and were usually full of multicolored candy wrappers. As she looked closer she noticed each of the stones was rounded, and not a single one was bigger than the basket sitting open beside it.

"You wanna help me test it?" he asked, confidence filling his squeaky voice.

"Yes!" Lock and Shock both yelled it out at the same time, and turned to each other.

"I said it first!" they echoed.

"No you didn't!" Shock screeched

"I did!" Lock snarled and they both made a break for the pile.

Barrel stood by laughing as they both grabbed the closest pumpkin and tugged against each other.

"I'll roll you for it." Lock offered. Shock nodded.

"Alright. Highest goes first." Shock agreed. "We'll both let go in; three-"

"Two-" Lock counted. Their eyes met through the masks.

"One." she finished. Barrel snickered.

Neither of them dropped it. Instead their eyes met and they both yanked it away splitting it in half. Both of them immediately released the half and threw it at each other.

"You moron!" Lock howled.

"My dress!" Shock scooped the goop off her skirt and lobed it at his head. He dodged and they turned to Barrel.

"Dice." Shock said.

"Now." Lock finished. It wasn't a request. Barrel sighed and produced a pair of dice from his pocket. He was getting better with them, probably because he snagged a pair out of habit every time the chance presented itself. They both snatched one from his hand.

The cubes rolled out onto the dirt and landed beside each other, as always happened with Oogie's dice. Lock rolled a three. Shock rolled a four.

Her brother snarled quietly and snatched the dice off the ground. He slammed them back into Barrel's hands and stormed to the back of the clearing to sit against a tree. They didn't make Barrel roll, he always got a six.

He hefted a rock into the basket and pulled out his old telescope to angle it. A quick squeak or two later and the device was angled perfectly towards the town square.

"Ready?" He turned back to his Siblings and they nodded. He yanked back on a lever hidden within the mess of wire and the basket yanked forward and the rock went soaring through the aim and slammed into the fountain. The CRACK! Of it echoed through the town and back to where the clearing. They all turned to each other.

"Awesome." Lock said. They nodded. Shock ran up and shoved Barrel aside.

"My turn!" She grabbed a pumpkin off the pile and rammed it into the crate before snatching the telescope from him. She carefully positioned it against the masks eye hole and angled it so that she could clearly see the town center. A smile curled her lips as a small black cart drove around the bend in her sight, clearly decorated with a megaphone. The mayor stepped out and she mentally added the click off his head switching sides to display his surprise at seeing the fountain blocked by a boulder. He stepped out to investigate and she carefully turned the machine to him and stood back.

"Hey guys, watch this." she whispered and her brothers slid over beside her fighting over the small telescope. She waited for him to come back into her line of sight, snatched the telescope from Barrel's hands, and yanked the lever. The small orange sphere launched through the air and landed across the wall and splatted into the mayors signature hat. And kept going. The brims of his hat popped back out as it settled around his necktie. And then Shock, Lock and Barrel burst out laughing.

Fun was getting harder to come by and opportunities that good were once in a lifetime. Or three, if you were Lock, Shock, and Barrel. Shock snuggled Barrel's head and grinned as Lock's snickers echoed to the main court causing the pumpkin headed mayor to spin around. And then a clear voice sliced through their laughter like a knife.

"Mayor? What happened?" The light voice of Jack washed over them and they froze, Shock still perched on Barrel's shoulders. They watched mouth open as the the skeleton reached over and pulled the pumpkin free of the Mayor's pointed head with one hand.

"Now who could have done this?" He queered, and Lock chose that moment to move. Even thought they were out of the Jack's line of sight the other two still twitched as their brother leaped forwards and crammed a pumpkin into the basket, radiating determination. The other two jumped up as they realized what he was doing and tried to shove him away but Lock dodged and shoved the machine to the side with one heave.

"NO!" Shock screamed. But Lock had already yanked the lever and the pumpkin flew threw the air. It landed soundly on Jack's head.

The skeleton didn't move for a single second and then ripped the thing off his head and spun around.

"LOCK! SHOCK! BARREL!" He howled. Jack had an excellent howl. They spun around to the cringing Lock.

"YOU MORON!" Shock shrieked, barely audible over Barrels wail.

"My machine!" He sobbed and Lock backed away hands raised. It shouldn't have been possible for anyone to move as quickly as the skeleton had but there was Jack right behind him. Lock yelped and tried to run but the skeletons iron grip closed around his arm.

Shock felt the old fear fill her and she pointed at her brother, who on instinct pointed back.

"It wasn't me!" They all shrieked. Jack glared at them and Barrel pouted as he saw Jack's eyes fall on his machine.

"This is the fifth time this month you three." He snarled. They all shrugged and he crossed the small clearing in a single step. Leaning over until he was eye to eye with Shock's mask, he hissed "I ought to turn you into Oogie." Shock shook her head frantically. He would probably be fine for a few days now that he'd gotten it out of his system but seeing the skeleton would start him up again. But Jack continued.

"But first you are going to explain yourselves." He snaked out and his bony hand crushed her fingers as he dragged her out of the clearing towards town. Barrel, never one to miss out on excitement trailed along after, not seeming very concerned. Jack thrust them towards the horrified Mayor.

"You three?" The poor official sounded surprised, despite the normality of the situation. It wasn't as though there were many troublemakers with a pumpkin launcher. Until today there hadn't been any.

"Hi mayor." Barrel waved behind them.

"Hi ninny." Lock offered. The mayor grimaced and looked pleadingly at Jack.

"What am I supposed to do with them?" He muttered. Jack smiled, or widened the ever present grin, kindly.

"Why don't you let me take care of them?" he offered. It was probably safer to be yelled at by Jack than dragged home. Shock snickered loudly and murmured "i-di-ot" Jack tugged her arm lightly. That sealed it.

"You three are coming, with me." he said. Jack rarely made requests, people usually just did as he said. They trotted along after him as he dragged them through town to city hall. He stormed past the mayors desk and pulled open a door. The small back room was full of cells. They grinned. It was their home away from home. Sure they'd probably get a stern yelling at later, but as long as they were out of Jack's metaphorical hair what they did didn't really matter. He released the steel grip and pulled open the door to the nearest cell. They wandered in with little protest, but still some because if Oogie had taught them anything it was how to whine, and settled in. Jack reached out his skeletal fingers and glared at them.

"Yes Jack?" Shock managed to sound interested.

"Your masks. All of you." He demanded. "I don't want to turn around to find I've gotten the wrong kids." They shrugged. What he meant was he didn't want a repeat of last time, when Barrel had managed to snag the keys out of Jack's pocket and had tucked it behind his yellowed skeleton mask.

"Sure Jack." Barrel reached of and pried it off with a slightly disturbing pop. Lock handed his over without comment, reveling the prize winning scowl beneath. Shock's hand hesitated for a moment as she remembered the blow from earlier.

Everyone in Halloween Town had supernatural healing, but her's was a little slower than average and she hadn't had time to check if there was still a mark. She slid the green mask over the brim of her hat and handed it over trying to keep her head tilted down.

"Shock, what happened to your eye?" Jack's voice sounded strange, it was a tone he'd never used with her before. Concern. She met his eyes and shrugged.

"I tripped in the woods." There was no way she was going to snitch on her father, and especially not to Jack. She had developed a special hatred for the skeleton over the years, probably aided by their constant interactions. She shoved Lock gently.

"My idiot brothers need to learn how to make a path!" Lock snarled and his tail jabbed her in the back.

"Do not!" He grumbled. Jack seemed to accept it, and stepped out.

They listened as he tucked the multicolored masks into a something out of their line of sight and then to the clack on the marble floor as he wandered away.

"I'll deal with you three, later!" He bellowed. There was an emphasis on the later.

Shock sighed and pulled a small mirror out of the folds of her dress; she'd blinded the mayor with it seven different times, and on one amazingly odd occasion, three times in the same day. Now she tilted it towards herself and saw her light blue eyes rimmed by two different colors.

The normal bright green eyeshadow was swallowed up by black where Oogie's hand had hit. She reached up carefully and traced the mark with a pale finger. A jolt of pain caused her to wince as her nail slid against the edge. Fortunately it had taken on the shape of a circle rather than the sharp point of the hand that had formed it. At least it was shrinking as she watched.

She sighed and tucked the mirror back into her pocket. It wasn't as though anyone looked farther than her wiry green hair that determinedly stuck out in ten different directions, at least five of which involved the word up, or the sickly blue that permanently tinted her skin anyway.

* * *

As soon as Jack's skeletal footsteps died down, Barrel pulled two thin wires out of his perfect green hair and jabbed Lock with one. He yelled and snatched the pointed barbs from his hands. Barrel looked up at him knowingly. His brother loved breaking his name-sake.

"Fine." the devil boy squeezed against the side of cell and started to toy with the lock. Barrel sat back and tried to find something to occupy himself. His sister was busy being mopey, probably about Lock, or Jack yelling at them, or something stupid. He vaguely wondered why she'd lied about her eye. They knew the outskirts of town better than anyone, and after many years of terrorizing the town could get anywhere without tripping.

It probably had to do with Oogie, most things with her did, and he'd learned long ago not to pay anything he did too much attention. Probably why he'd managed to dodge most of the new anger in him.

He started fidgeting with his feet and it occurred to him how odd it was Jack would wear a suit, ironed neatly, but never shoes. It was sort of funny, he considered, how effective it was as a warning. You could hear the skeleton blocks away from the clicks.

He produced a large handful of candy and started fishing out the best ones with an expert eye.

Finally, after all of two minutes, the handful was gone and he curled up into a ball to sleep.

Barrel's superpower was, in his opinion, not mischief or even building things, but the ability to sleep anywhere. He'd sleep in a pit of spikes if he could find one.

The sharp click of bone against floor jerked him awake. Lock shoved the picks back into his pockets and Shock nudged Barrel with her foot to make sure he was awake. He stood up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

It didn't feel like he'd been napping that long, sadly.

A young skeleton tried to sneak in front of them, wincing pitifully every time his feet touched the ground. Lock snickered loudly and the young boy nearly jumped out of his metaphorical skin.

"Hi Jack's dweeb. Come to pick on us? Or just to flirt with my sister?" Lock grinned, displaying his full set of fangs. They'd grown over the years, to rival the vampires, and terrify victims. The miniature Jack shook his head desperately and glanced at Shock.

"No. I just... I heard you were in here again and..." he fumbled with something in his hands and looked nervously up at Shock again. Barrel perked up; THAT might be interesting. Shock was the only really female teen left, but she was guarded by Lock, who despite everything was fiercely protective of his sister.

But Jason was Jack's son, or as much of a son as you could have in a town where reanimation was the only way to meet new people; and Barrel wasn't sure whether Lock would risk turning his life into a waking nightmare (in a bad way) to chase him away.

Shock sighed. "And?" she rolled her eyes dramatically and if a skull could look bashful, Jason was doing it now.

"Um..." he stammered.

"Not much of a talker huh?" Lock teased and clearly mouthed the word L-O-S-E-R at the him. Jayson thrust out a handful of small metal keys like they would somehow block him from the older boys disdain.

"I brought the keys." he offered. Barrel grinned. That wasn't boring. Shock smiled at the boy and Barrel saw his brother's face turn red with rage.

"We didn't need them." he muttered. Shock elbowed him and managed to make a passable grin.

"Thanks." she watched as his eyes widened.

"What happened to your eye?" he gasped. Shock's smile didn't falter, and she smoothly countered.

"I tripped, thanks to my moron of a brother." Barrel really did wonder about that. He shrugged it off though as the boy flicked through the set of keys.

"Oh." the door's lock clicked and then slid back into the wall. The three wandered out, trying to look as though this happened everyday. The bony hand pointed to the mayor's desk. "Your masks are in there. I think. There was this snake..."

They all looked at each other. Lock shrugged and Shock shook her head. They turned to their beaming brother.

Barrel smiled and clicked his pudgy fingers together. A small greenish black snake slid out of the desk and coiled itself around his leg before vanishing into one of his infinite pockets.

He'd known he'd gotten it past Jack but getting it past his siblings was an entirely different type of skill.

Lock ran over as soon as it was gone and grabbed the three masks, cramming the red devil one over his head before returning.

He shoved the other two in their direction and choked out a "Thanks." to Jason before running out. Barrel giggled as he noticed the young skeletons eyes hadn't left Shock's hurt eye. She hurriedly slid on the mask past and rushed out after Lock mumbling about something about a moron brother.

"Bye Jay." Barrel hazarded.

Even though Jason was closer to Lock in age, he would sometimes help the young boy with ideas.

Besides his siblings, Jason was the only one Barrel would consider a 'friend' and even then barely.

Unlike the others, Barrel's hatred of the boy's father hadn't immediately extended to him. Probably because the everyone else's hatred off Oogie had rubbed off on Barrel.

Jayson nodded slightly and looked out at his siblings retreating figures. Shock appeared to be attacking Lock, but it was had to tell from the distance.

"Will she be okay?" he asked. Barrel twisted up his face as he tried to imagine why the skeleton would even care. He shrugged.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't she be? It's not like we haven't gotten worse." he beamed. To him anytime they got in trouble was a testament to a job well done.

"Oh..." The look on his face said he still didn't understand. "Okay. Well bye I guess."

Barrel shrugged and ran off after his siblings. It wasn't much good getting out if you didn't leave before Jack decided to check on you.

* * *

As soon as they were out of range Lock turned to his sister and snarled.

"And I'm the suck up?!" he'd never admit it, but more than anything being helped by Jack's son had bruised his ego. Since he was oldest, he always wanted to be the best, or if that failed, be able to steal credit from one of his siblings. Shock sighed and smacked him on the back of his head.

"Think idiot! I know you brains hollow but, or at least pretend!" she hissed.

"I'm not an idiot!" he growled. "And what am I supposed to think? Were you flirting?" he gagged. They slowed and ducked into an ally for their brother to catch up. Shock shrugged.

"Sure. Whatever." Lock tilted up his mask to stare.

"What?" he gaped. "You like HIM?" he felt sick just thinking of it. She laughed loudly causing him to blush with embarrassment.

"Of course not numbskull." she giggled. "Listen, Jack hates us right? But he loves Jason." Lock nodded slowly. He didn't actually see yet, but pride demanded he pretend to. Barrel had caught up by now and was listening intently.

"So?" the younger boy chirped.

"So genius. If he helps us, Jack can't punish us without punishing him to!" she finished. Lock nodded slowly. That actually seemed... Right.  
Lock stared at his sister in surprise. He'd never really thought of her as that smart before. Barrel nodded grinning.

"Duh. You're just now realizing that?" he asked. Shock shook her head.

"Just enlightening our stupid brother." she sighed. "Now come on before someone realizes I left a bear trap under the mayors desk." they all suddenly looked away guiltily.

"You two..." she sighed.

"It was only _one_ nail in his chair." Barrel whined. They looked to Lock. He pulled the mask back down and laughed.

"You'll hear it." He promised. The other two shrugged. Suddenly a loud bang came from the mayor's office, shortly followed by a clang and a yelp. The three laughed and ran for home. It was turning into an excellent night, and if they made it back in time it'd be even better.

* * *

Hey just letting you guys know, I'm having some computer problems right now, but I'm going to try to post at least on chapter a week. I'm reasonably sure about where this is going, and it shouldn't end up a SXL unless something goes weird. If you have any recommendations please let me know and I'll try to work them in.


	3. Working with the Boogieman

The cage creaked to a stop in the middle of the dirty room they called home.

"I'm not saying it wasn't hilarious, I'm saying you're stupid!" Shock exclaimed. Lock shrugged and stepped out with the type of confidence only an idiot can pull off.

"Whatever. It was totally awesome. And you're just jealous." he grinned. Barrel nodded and hopped out after his brother, throwing his mask into the tub.

"Am not!" she grumbled

"Are to!" he grinned and threw his red mask randomly away from him. "Shock is jealous! Shock is jealous!" Barrel giggled and opened Lock mouth to sing along. But before they could, one of the doors scattered throughout the room creaked open,

"**You're back!**" Oogie bellowed. Shock felt herself inhale, before she could stop herself, and stepped back. She used the pause to tuck her mask away and forced herself to breath. There wasn't any reason to afraid. Most of the time he was still their father. And it was only sometimes when... When she wasn't sure he remembered who they were that he...

She twitched lightly and realized her hand was on the scar left by the acid vats that had refused to fully heal. She quickly yanked her traitorous fingers away.

Things like that had never happened before they'd resurrected him.

They'd tried their best to put him back together but something had gotten away.

It wasn't His fault. He'd done what he always did to intruders. How was he supposed to know that time Jack'd take it personally?

And afterward they'd been stuck paying the price.

But still... She closed her eyes and was instantly young again. She was screaming, probably thanks to something her brothers had done.

They'd been big enough to walk then but not old enough to care about each other.

And above her, smiling, was Oogie. He'd appeared the instant she'd opened her mouth and was reaching out to hold her.

To comfort her.

To protect her...

She shook it out of her head. She was being stupid again.

They loved him for being the scariest and most evil monster in Halloween town and the power that came with it. Sometimes there were hazards. They got over it. Her arm didn't even hurt anymore.

Suddenly she remembered her eye and questioningly reached up to touch it. No responding blot of pain meant it was probably healed. She wouldn't have to worry about what the townspeople would think then.

Their father's giant green head popped in from one of the lower rooms. "**Where were you?**" he asked. Barrel grinned.

"They were helping me."

"And you'll never believe who we hit!" Lock exclaimed. Oogie turned to him and Lock grinned to light up the town. Shock hurriedly finished.

"The mayor!" she knew it wasn't what he would have said, but any mention of Jack had the added risk of setting him off. Which she'd have to deal with.

Her brother was good at starting sentences, not thinking them through.

Barrel ran over and Lock grabbed the nearest crate and rammed it over his brother's head.

"It went full over his head! Like a skull!" he grinned. "You should have seen it!" Their father laughed.

"**Knowing you three, it probably exploded afterward!**" he added as he stepped into the room.

And when He said it, it was a compliment.

They beamed. He was definitely their dad again.

"**Now come on! We've got work to do.**" he smiled evilly.

"Yes sir!" they all yelled.

Working with Oogie was the only job in Halloween town that was year round. And that meant three hundred and sixty four times the screams.

It was also the best part of being his henchmen. That and the fun of visiting the mortal world, where some of the Townspeople couldn't even dream of.

"**Out!**" The boogieman yelled. And the three cringed in a mix of childish terror and glee. "**We're going to visit the Bad kids.**"

They laughed as his last exclamation echoed across the halls. The lights dimmed as he turned to the door, in a small show of power. His smile crawled across one corner of his face like a spider, sending a shiver down Shock's back. He growled loudly.

"**And I'm feeling Hungry.**"

The three siblings squealed in delight and hurried to the old bathtub. Tricking was good for a laugh but this? This was REAL fun.  
Barrel spurred the tub onward and they clanked into the cage, laughing like true maniacs.

It was definitely going to be a good night!

* * *

Raindrops slammed into the window and a small boy twitched in his bed. His large brown eyes flicked open and he sat up.

Something had woken him from his rest, but what? He slowly looked around, trying to blink the sleep away.

Everything seemed normal. The shelves, the toy chest, and the set of stuffed animals which lay by his bed were still snuggling each other for warmth.

Something moved in the corner and he spun to face it, shivering.

"Who... Who's there?" he whispered. A gust of wind ruffled his hair, and then a small snicker echoed around the room.

Three figures stepped out of the shadows. There was one with small horns visible against the dim window, and a large witch hat seemed to make up all of the middle one. The smallest was almost his height and seemed to be round.

There were no strange features, or missing limbs or anything particularly odd. He was simply round, and there was strange smell of rot coming from him.

The little boy didn't know anyone who looked like _them_. He shivered and pulled the blankets closer.

"Us." a demanding girl voice said (Ew! A girl in his room! Gross!) He looked at the three surprised. Monsters weren't supposed to reply!

"But..." he stammered and the one with devil horns stepped forward.

The small boy shivered again although he couldn't think why. Perhaps it was the horned boy's grin. It was so... Sharp.

"We're you worst nightmare." He hissed. The little boy leaned away from the stranger, scared.

"I've... Um... I've never had any nightmares like you before." he hazarded, his voice shaking. The smallest one laughed.

"You will now." he giggled. For some reason that scared the young boy almost as much as the grin.

He started to ask why, with the unstoppable curiosity of a child before he thought better of it and watched horrified as the devil horned one stepped closer still.

"Trick." he snarled and the other two chimed in.

"OR TREAT!"

The young boy opened his mouth to scream, the instant before two huge green hands grabbed him from behind and a huge face appeared over him.

"**Boo**!" it howled a spider flying out of it's mouth and landing in his lap.

The young boy screamed like his life depended on it.

Which, it turned out; it did.

* * *

"You hardly let me talk at all on that last one!" Barrel's sister whined. It felt like anytime there was free time one of them was using it to complain.

Their brother swung his feet onto the table beside the small carving he making with his nails.

"Only because you wouldn't shut it on the first one!" he exclaimed. Shock fumed loudly, a purple tint coming across her pale skin.

"I did too!" she argued

"No way!" Lock laughed and jabbed his hand back down to start a new line.

Barrel nodded in agreement. As much as he hated to inflate his his brothers ego anymore by agreeing, she'd nearly driven him insane with her rant.

"See!" His idiotic excuse of a sibling raised his spoon to gesture at the calmer boy.

"Even Barrel noticed!" He yelled, like it would win the argument. Shock made a reasonable evil face at her younger brother before opening her mouth to complain some more.

"Hey! What'd you mean even me!" Barrel hollered. After years of dealing with his siblings, he knew when he was being insulted.

"I mean EVERYONE knows you don't notice anything! I bet you wouldn't even notice if..." Lock trailed and his sister rushed to finish before the last word left his mouth.

"If Jack got down on one knee and proposed to Oogie in front of you!" she laughed, Lock snickering along. Barrel frowned angrily at the two.

Unlike the others, he didn't believe in wasting energy making scary faces. There were better ways to make things scream, as a number of local, much deader, cats could testify.

He turned to the sibling closest, his brother Lock, and swatted down one of his perfectly done horns.

"Would too! Pretty boy!" he yelled and dodged as his brother swatted his hands away.

Shock giggled and glanced at the door Oogie had left through, before reaching over and swatting the other one.

Lock snarled and jabbed the handle of the spoon into the table so hard it stuck, before reaching up to ruffle his brother's hair. Barrel ducked away easily and bolted out of his chair.

"Hey!" the devil boy hollered. Barrel grinned and pulled back the corners of his smile to extend the green tongue within taunting.

"Numbskull!" he teased.

"Spiders for brains! We ought to cook you up instead!" his brother growled and stood to spring on him.

"Hey! Watch it moron!" Shock hissed. "Or Dad'll let starve!" Lock sat back in his chair, red faced.

"He ought make you go hungry! Maybe that'd teach you to shut your big mouth." he grumbled at her. Barrel sat down as the two started again.

He was unfortunately stuck with them until their Father was done in the kitchen. No matter how different they were, they could always agree on one thing.

_LET OOGIE COOK._

The few attempts they had made when they were working on sewing him back together had all ended poorly to say the least. It had been discovered that anything Lock tried to make smelled exactly like rotten eggs, and that his sister simply ruined the pot.

At least; when the stuff inside didn't run away.

That had quickly ended of any culinary ambitions the trio might have had.

It'd also had been the week Barrel had gotten sick by eating to much candy. A first even for him.

And after they'd managed to resurrect Oogie, it'd gone without saying that they left that part out. It was better not to tempt fate too much when it came to their dad.

That was what Jack had never figured out. He just wasn't as scary after they'd learned he didn't dare ACTUALLY hurt them...

His sister's spoon flew across the table and smacked him in the eye.

"Hey airhead!" she yelled. Barrel grinned lightly and picked the utensil up gently between two of his pudgy fingers. It flew unerringly over the battle scarred table and landed an inch from her head with a perfect THWACK before dropping gently back down into her waiting hand.

Shock didn't flinch. He sighed.

"You're no fun." he whined.

"Oh because you're just a Loads of laughs." Lock added, sarcasm filling his voice.

He didn't look up from the elaborate tracing he had etched into the wood.

Barrel felt mildly annoyed at that. He was always quick to go along with his siblings plans, which made him by definition 'fun.' It just didn't look like it to a moron like Lock.

The smaller boy turned to his older brother and beamed innocently at him, knowing how much it made his sibling's skin crawl.

"Oogie thought so." he pouted, carefully giving his brother the full little kid look, big eyes blinking with hope.

He knew the devil boys weak spot as well as Shock. His pride.

The idiot's ego was even bigger than their trick or treat bag.

But the real skill was making it seem like he didn't know what he was doing.

He wasn't tall enough or strong enough to avoid getting tossed out the nearest window if Lock even decided to do something more useful than complaining.

His brother's head snapped around and his face was twisted in rage.

"No he doesn't! It's only because you're so short and stupid, that he takes pity on you." he snarled. He looked at his brothers sad eyes one more time before smiling and turning back to his carving satisfied. "You're not scary enough for anyone to Really like you." He finished.

Barrel stopped the giggle rising in his plump body. That would give him away. But he couldn't stop himself from going in for the final blow.

"But..." he made his voice high and childish. He'd need it to get away with this.

"No one likes you an..." his brother spun around, feet swinging off the table, looking ready to murder someone. Somehow a small red plunger had appeared in his grip and was aimed towards Barrel's head.

The younger boy froze, fear filling him. He'd been on the wrong end of the horrible thing one time too many not to.

"I AM GOING TO SHOVE YOU THROUGH THE WALL AND," the boy howled.

Suddenly Shock interrupted.

"Oh shut up you big baby!" the older boy spun to face her and unlike Barrel she met his glare full on with one of her own.

"But he started it!" Lock growled. She gave him an annoyed look and put her hand on the other end of the plunger.

"Does it look like I care who started it?" she demanded. Lock opened his mouth to protest and she continued.

"YOU are in the middle of every single stupid thing that happens in here! Not him. You! Will you just do you're job for once!" Lock paused and Barrel's mouth fell open.

"I do!" Lock gasped.

"Whatever." she laughed and yanked the plunger out of his stunned fingers. "I bet you haven't come up with a single prank that DIDN'T end with us getting in trouble." a note of teasing had entered her voice, but their brother was too busy trying to think of a reply to notice.

He glared defensively.

"Like you have." he hazarded.

Barrel opened his mouth to add that he _had_, in fact made several, before deciding against interrupting.

It was just too amazing to see the really two fighting.

Sure they complained a lot, but they never acted like they might actually mean it.

Besides, even if he did share, they'd probably just mess it up anyway.

Shock grinned.

"I might have." she glanced at the door conspiratorially before turning back to her amazed brothers.

"Please!" Lock scoffed. "If you did that I'll... I'll..."

"If it works, you'll have to be nice to _everyone_ for the rest of the week." Shock grinned.

"Fine." Lock blurted, and then realized what he'd just agreed to.

"Great! Now listen up!" she rushed, hurriedly cutting him off.

They all leaned closer interested.

"First we're going to..."


	4. Pranks

**First things first: I apologize for not including a disclaimer sooner this is my first fanfiction and it slipped my mind. So here:  
**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I don't own Nightmare Before Christmas or Tim Burton. If I did I probably wouldn't be writing this because I'd be trying to find where they hid the Holiday Doors. Or, you know, screaming because I owned a talking skeleton. One of the two.  
**

* * *

"Why am I doing this again?" Lock hissed.

"Because you promised." Shock whispered.

"Because she said she wouldn't give back your plunger unless you did." Barrel translated from the other side of the witch. Lock scowled.

He never should have let the blasted thing out of his sight. It was one of the few things he really owned, and he was proud of it. Whether or not it was held together by duck tape and willpower.

"Fine." he sighed and slouched against the small stone wall.

The part of the plan he hated the most, besides the part where he hadn't made it, was the waiting.

Barrel collapsed next to him and pulled out a handful of candy to add to the small pile of orange and black wrappers beside him, before they went back to ignoring each other looking for the final person.

The three twitched uncomfortably every time someone passed by.

It felt unnatural to be standing around in plain sight, and some of the looks they were getting suggested the townspeople agreed.

They were never welcomed in town to begin with, and hanging around looking suspicious meant they were _bound_ to be up to something.

Finally the right absent minded moron wandered past.

Shock stepped on Lock's toes and hissed, "Try not to look TOO miserable."

Her brother sighed and straightened up with an insane grin. His sister had insisted no masks, much to his annoyance, so he had decided to make up for it by pretending to be a maniac.

He gave the boy walking towards them barely a glance before shifting his eyes to just beside his head.

"Hi Jason." Shock smiled. The young skeleton have her a nervous grin.

"Hi Shock. Hi Barrel..." his eyes fell on Lock and he quickly swiveled his skull to follow the other boys gaze confused. Seeing nothing unusual, although Lock was pretty sure he wouldn't notice if there was, he turned back and waved a hand in front of the devil boy's face.

Lock carefully didn't let his eyes move, as he fought the urge to bite the hand. Teeth and skeletons were a bad combination.

"Hi... Lock..." Jason turned back to the other two.

"Umm... What's wrong with him?" He risked. Shock turned around and glared at her google eyed brother. Lock grinned back calmly.

"Nothing." Barrel rushed.

"He's a moron." Shock countered.

"It helps if you ignore him-" Barrel started, nodding like it was some mystic truth.

"We do." Shock finished.

Lock's insane look dropped and he scowled at the two.

"Hey! What'd you mean?! I'm the only one with a brain around here!" he hollered.

Barrel leaned back just far enough for Lock to see and twirled his finger around his ear in the universal sign for CrAzY.

Lock's face twisted up and he reached over to snag his idiot brother.

"I'll show you crazy you little brat!" He promised about to lunge.

Shock turned around and threw her hands in between the two, snarling at them both.

"I'll get you, you little scaredy cat!" The devil boy snarled and Barrel stepped away giggling so loudly it drowned their sister out.

"Lock is crazy! Lock is crazy!"

Shock lunged and grabbed his hand, yanking him back to her.

"Shut up both of you or I'll lock you BOTH in Dr. Freckle-steins lab!" she hollered, using the old nickname they'd had for the Dr. ever since one of their pranks had left him with bright red spots for a week.

The two didn't even pause.

Lock's arms started pinwheeling to try to catch his plump little brother as their sister desperately tried to pull the retreating little monster back to them and push Lock away at the same time, grumbling threats over their teasing.

Everyone nearby had stopped to stare at their insanity. Suddenly the Jazz band missed a note as Lock made a huge lunge, and missed.

He slammed into Shock instead, knocking her onto the smallest sibling; all of them screaming wildly.

Shock landed on Barrel just as Lock's tail managed to stab him causing a yelp in pain, that the devil boy would never admit to in a million years or for three plungers, before he shoved her.

The three all jumped at each other with random battle cries.

"AHH!"

"MY HAT!"

"GET AWAY FROM M- MUMPH?!" a drool covered piece of purple fabric was launched away from the mess of limbs followed by a scream of "Ew! You need a bath!" before Lock elbowed his brother in the chin forcing the huge mouth shut.

Not that anyone could tell over Shock's sudden howls of fury.

They all scrambled to get up by pushing each other down, failed for obvious reasons, and one solid, unanimous cry of, "I HATE YOU TWO!" echoed throughout the small path as the three landed on each other again, still fighting.

Jason laughed.

The three froze mid-attack, Lock's arm nearly in his little brother's gaping mouth, as the skeleton chuckled and then howled with laughter.

Lock started to untangled himself from the knot of limbs enough to look around, desperately trying to find what the lunatic was laughing AT.

As Shock released her two suddenly calm brothers, and then pried them off of her, watching fascinated as the stick thin boy tried to stop laughing, taking in huge gasps of air that nearly doubled the size his bony chest. It was an amazing sight Lock had to admit, each gasp seeming to lift the thin skeleton off the ground.

"What?" She asked, confusion scrawled across her face.

"You..." he gasped, his already light voice now higher than Barrel's the week his voice had changed, and she turned back to her brothers ready to yell at them again for whatever they were about to be blamed for.

"You three... What is wrong with you?!" he managed to finish before bursting into giggles again.

They all glanced at each other confused, hoping that one of them would start the sentence so they wouldn't have to.

Finally the three turned back to him and shrugged as one.

"Besides being surround by idiots?" Lock frowned.

He didn't like being laughed at by anyone, and getting laughed at by the mini pumpkin king was making his blood boil.

Especially since no one had done anything funny.

The other two stood up slowly, the ever present grin already returning to Barrel's face.

"We're just like that." The little traitor smiled.

"It's a family thing." Shock sighed, before starting to brush a huge mass of dust and Barrel drool off her dress.

"You have a really weird family." Jason smiled. It was an actual smile too, not the stupid shy one he always had around Lock's sister the devil boy noticed, scowling even harder.

Part of him wanted to throw something at the stupid kid for insulting them, but a larger part of him was afraid of what Shock would do if he messed up the plan even more.

He settled for glaring at the suddenly friendly skeleton.

Out of the corner of his death glare he saw Shock's expression twist into a frown like his before returning to the calm smile she used around the third most powerful monster in town.

"I guess we are." She shrugged and stuck her hands behind her back girlishly quietly motioning her brothers closer.

"But anyway," she smiled innocently, "We were wondering-"

"If you wanted to play with us?!" Barrel chirped, and Lock had to stop himself from rolling his eyes in disgust as the stick-thin boy's mouth opened in surprise.

Then his large eyeholes shrunk in an almost perfect mirror of his father's suspicious expression.

"Why me?" he challenged. Lock opened his mouth and then realized he had no idea what story they were using. He closed his eyes about to make something up, when Barrel cut in.

"We needed a fourth person and I thought since you help me out sometimes..." He stared hopefully at Jason and the young skeleton blinked in surprise, but still glared at them.

"But there's got to be someone better. Maybe Brian?" he pushed.

"Who?" Lock blurted, the other two shook their heads.

"Don't know." Barrel frowned.

"Nope." the witch shrugged.

They all looked at the skeleton expectantly.

Jason sighed and pointed towards the mausoleum. "You know? 'Brain.' The Corpses' kid?" the three smiled in recognition.

"Oh Brain!" Barrel smiled.

"Why didn't you just say so?" Lock grumbled.

He hadn't even know the drooling numbskull had a name until then. He'd sort of assumed everyone called him Brain because he looked like a zombie.

It bothered him more than he'd care to admit that Jack's son had known it. And even more that he hadn't.

He pumped up the death glare to violent murder.

Sadly the skeleton was oblivious.

He was either ignoring the red haired devil, or was just that interested in said boy's sister. Lock wasn't sure which of the two was worse.

"Fine," Shock sighed "We were talking and we realized that now that you're old enough Jack's probably going to start teaching you to be hopelessly boring and serious like him." she smiled wickedly. "But then we thought, if we could hang out with you first, maybe we could teach you to have fun instead!"

"Dad can be fun..." Jason tried.

Lock yawned hugely, exposing his full set of pointed teeth.

That shut the loon up.

"Look," He heard Barrel start. "Our dad takes us scaring in the mortal world; your dad does paperwork and yells a lot. If anyone here knows what fun is, it's us!"

"And we want to teach you!" Shock beamed. Jason's mouth fell open and he started fidgeting nervously.

"But dad said... Um... I'd have to..." He stuttered. Lock rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure he knew what Jack had said about them.

He turned to his sister and snarled. "See? I told you he was to stuck up? You didn't believe me." he teased, knowing full well that if this missed she'd blame him.

Fortunately his sister seemed less dumb than usual and turned to him resigned.

"Fine! I get it! You don't have to rub it in!" she shrieked. Barrel was giving them a look that suggested he'd rather be related to a pair of bunny slippers than admit to knowing the two psychos making up a conversation and quietly started sneaking away.

"I'm not stuck up!" Jason exclaimed. Lock turned to him and gave him the number five smirk.

"Suurre." he laughed, voice dripping sarcasm even the deaf witch couldn't miss.

Jason's eyes narrowed and Lock resisted the urge to flee. For a kid who could barely form a sentence around Shock, he had a truly terrifying glare.

"Then you're a wimp." Lock concluded.

"I. Am. Not. A. Wimp." Jason snarled. If he hadn't spent the last five years sidestepping Oogie, Lock probably would have screamed.

Whatever Jack had been teaching the creep, Lock wanted it. No one would yell at them again if He could turn a normal sentence into a threat for pain.

"Oh?" he laughed, keeping his voice steady. "Then why are you too afraid to do something my little sister can do?" The skeletons anger didn't faultier as he stepped closer.

"I'm not afraid of _anything._" he growled. All he needed was the suit and a pair of stilts to be his father, Lock noticed. It wasn't helping that the devil boy's knees were shaking.

"Oh leave him alone Lock." Shock chirped, and Lock shivered the instant the second the horrible skeleton thing's eyes left him.

"We'll just ask one of banshees instead." she shrugged and looked around to find their final brother. "Barrel! Get back here!" she hollered. Lock held his breath as Jason's express twisted.

"Wait. I'll go!" he gasped and then looked just as stunned as Barrel, who had just wandered back out of the nearest candy shop.

"Great!" Lock smiled and slapped the tiny boy on his back hard enough to make him stumble.

"Come on!" Shock giggled and Barrel launched into the thin boys knees, launching him forwards as they rushed towards town.

"We've got work to do!"

* * *

"Okay so here's the plan;" Shock started and her dumbest brother sighed dramatically.

"We all know the plan! You only went over it a billion times!" he exclaimed.

"He doesn't." She pointed at their newest addition who was looking like he wished the ground would just swallow him up and get the torture over with.

"Fine." Lock shrugged and went back to peeking over the can they were hiding behind. "It's not like we can do anything until Barrel finishes." he glared at the roof where the round boy was hiding.

"Why is Barrel the one climbing on the roof again?" Jason asked. Shock turned to him and smiled pityingly at the foolish little skeleton.

"Because if he does, we don't have to." she explained. "Plus he bounces, and I don't. So unless we want this to end with a Shock pancake-"

"I do!" Lock grinned. "Let's try that instead!" Shock smacked him and he yelped.

"As I was saying! Unless LOCK over there wants to explain how this ended with a Shock pancake; I suggest we let Barrel stay on the roof instead." she concluded. Jason looked over her pointy hat to Lock who was still rubbing his cheek.

"Alright." he shrugged. Lock stared at him like he'd just turned mortal.

"Wait? We let our little brother climb on the roof with stuff that we WANT to explode, and that's all you have to say? Alright?" he asked. Jason shrugged again.

"Sure. I mean Dad always says you have to give the right job to the right person, so if that's Barrel I don't see why not." He said. Shock stared at him.

There was no way on this planet that he could be serious. No one was actually going to just trust what the adults in town said. And even less what she said. Were they?

"I'm hating you less every second numbskull." Lock grinned. Jason smiled a little.

"Really?" Shock saw her brother's eyes starting to roll and she nudged the skeleton.

"Knock it off, he's already got a big head." she whispered. For a second worry crossed the boy's face and then he smiled evilly and glared up at Lock again.

"Really? Because I'm liking you less every minute." he teased.

Lock's mouth fell open and Shock giggled in surprise before grinning at him.

"Good one! I didn't know you had it in you!" she smiled. He grinned back, which was as close as a skeleton could get to a normal smile.

"Me either." he whispered. She felt a weird pang of guilt at that.

No one really went out of the way to be nice to her, not that she really wanted them to, it was annoying when people fell all over themselves to impress her just because she was a girl, but still...

She almost wished they weren't about to use him.

But she wouldn't be Shock if she wasn't able to shrug it off with a mental promise to apologize later that she immediately forgot about.

Lock turned around to protest when a loud crash followed by a yell sounded across the street.

The three instantly shut up and got ready to sprint, hurriedly waiting for the responding wail from the mayor.

Sure enough the large car drove up and a moment later the mayor popped out papers flying.

"Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!" he muttered and rushed to grab the escaping parchment as his face twisted around to the horrified side.

"Now." Lock hissed and Shock grabbed Jason's wrist to rush out of the ally as Barrel made a leap off the nearest roof and went sprinting across to dive into the mayors car headfirst.

The mayor turned around as fast as his round shape let him, just as Lock leaped in and the car shrieked as the devil boy spun the wheel with all his might, sending the car skidding sideways towards the final two.

"Gah!" Jason screamed from behind the determined witch as the car slid towards them.

A red foot kicked the door open and she jumped in dragging her unfortunate companion in after.

"Go!" she shrieked and under the seat one of Barrel's hands stuck out in a thumbs up.

The car skidded away, sparks flying as Lock tried to fit in the packed car and steer at the same time, sending a cat yowling out of the way.

As soon as they were ahead of the crowd of surprised monsters he grabbed Barrel from under his seat and jump into the back if the car.

"Drive!" he yelled and pulled his chubby brother after him.

"What!" Jason screamed all traces of the bravery from earlier gone.

Shock shoved him over her towards the wheel. Which he gripped out of sheer terror.

"You heard him-" she grinned. The skeleton looked horrified and Barrel's small voice from the back quickly chirped.

"Right one's go!" as two bandit masks went flying through the curtain and into Shock's hands.

The car hopped forwards and then stopped again.

"I don't know-" Jason tried and Shock thrust one of the masks-not the one purple of course-at him desperately.

"You're about to learn!" she yelled. From the back Barrel screamed;

"Hold it down!" He took the mask with his with his free hand and tried not to look away from the road.

Shock hurriedly tied the first mask around her head and reached yanked the other one out of his terrified grip to start tying it around his skull.

The car hoped forwards and form the back Lock's shrill voice started the count down.

"Ready in three..."

"Two..." Barrel continued and the mayor's voice started up again as he chased after them. Jason's eyes had doubled in size and he hit gas once more as Shock finished.

"One!" She shrieked. There was the mayor's signature yell of surprise and then a green cloud billowed around them.

"Good shot Barrel!" Lock yelled and the brothers' masked heads popped back through the curtain in time to see the last of the smoke as Jason screeched around the corner.

"What?! Was. THAT!" Jason screamed and Barrel lifted up his blue mask to grin proudly, not that the skeleton was able to turn to appreciate it.

"Stink bomb. I made it myself!" he smiled and Lock peered over the skeletons shoulder.

"No he didn't. It was all me." he lied and Shock yanked his red bandit mask off.

"Knock it off! It was my idea!" she giggled and then pushed his head back into the curtain.

"Turn left here." she offered. Jason turned left and the gates creaked open to let them pass.

As soon as they were out of view he turned to them and shrieked.

"What just happened!" He looked around desperately. Lock and Barrel's head popped back out beside him.

"Oh you just learned how to drive." Lock grinned.

"Congratulations." Barrel nodded.

"MY DAD'S GOING TO KILL ME!" Jason shrieked. Shock turned to him and rolled her eyes.

Unfortunately he was probably right, but she wasn't about to tell him that.

"Look." he turned to her obediently, and she continued in a calm tone. "Did you have fun?"

He looked down at his hands, still clinging to the steering wheel, and then at the path they were now sitting on. Then at his hands again.

Then he nodded.

"Probably?" he looked back at the small shape of town hall and then nodded again. "Yeah actually. I did."

"See!" Barrel laughed. "Then it was worth it!"

"It was definitely better than going over plans with the ghosts." he agreed. And then he beamed at them. "And WAY more insane." The three grinned back.

"That's us!" Shock smiled.

"Crazy or your candy back!" Lock snickered in a bad imitation if one of the human commercials they'd seen on their scaring trip.  
Barrel punched him in the arm and Lock ruffled his hair.

"Hey! Leave me alone!" Barrel whined.

"Make me." Lock grinned. Shock sighed as her brothers launched into an attack. They were total idiots.

Jason muttered something and she turned to him.

"What? They're fine you know." she offered.

She wasn't really sure what to say to him without her brothers around. She'd just never figured out how you were supposed to act around the future head of Halloween.  
Respect had always seemed like the safer option, so she stuck to it even now; although there was no chance of Jack getting mad at her if she teased him.

The skeleton shook his head quickly, like he was brushing off an old memory.

"Oh. It's nothing. I was just thinking aloud." he said. She risked smiling at him.

"What were you thinking about?"

He shrugged and looked at the curtain separating them from her fighting brothers. "I was just remembering how I never got to look back there when I was younger. Jack and the mayor would sometimes take me along when they had to go across town but I wasn't allowed off Dad's lap..." he sighed "It's stupid I know." Shock shook her head quickly and put her hand on the curtain.

"No it's not." she grinned mischievously and he turned to her surprised.

"In fact, you wanna look right now?" she offered.

"I shouldn't-" he started and then stopped himself. "Actually yeah. I would!"

His face lit up like Barrel when he got a new lollipop.

What in the world has Jack been teaching him? Shock wondered.

One second he was about ready to strangle her brother and set fire to the remains without a second thought, the next he was nervous about looking at the mayor's portable planing room.

Skeletons were weird. Fortunately she was used to friends with mood swings.

"Then what's stopping you?" she challenged. He reached over and wrapped his bony fingers around the other curtain.

"Nothing." He yanked it back to reveal the small room, with plans flying everywhere as Lock and Barrel hurled them at each other. The highlight of the room was a small cat shaped lamp that Lock was about to kick.

For whatever reason this didn't seem to lower the skeleton's enthusiasm. He laughed and Lock kicked the lamp into Barrel who promptly threw it towards the front.

It went flying towards the skeleton's head and Shock reached out to try to block as it went launching towards one of the most important people in town...

All she could think was 'Jack's going to kill us." and closed her eyes to accept her fate when Jason caught it.

She stared, mouth open as he yanked it out of the air and threw it back into the room still grinning.

She'd never seen anything move so fast in her life.

"Get him Barrel!" He cheered. The wannabe skeleton obligingly bit Lock's tail.

"Are you okay?" she asked seriously worried. Jack would kill them if they'd accidentally broken Jason. The skeleton fell back into the driver's seat' letting the orange curtains close again, and smiled.

"I'm fine. I'm great! I've just never had a chance to really be normal before. Dad tries but..."

"He's always to serious?" she asked. The only times she'd ever seen Jack look relaxed was when he had first started dating Sally.

And even then worry had randomly creased his skull. It seemed like the only reasonable guess.

"He tries not to be, but pretty much everyone in town counts on him for the important stuff." Jason sighed.

"Mom does her best to help but there's so much that always needs to be done." he looked back at the town and Shock followed his hollow gaze back to Jack's house.

She stuttered a little before giving up. She didn't like Jack, and she'd never really minded Sally one way or the other.

The most attention she'd ever paid the rag doll was to be surprised when she found out she was engaged to the pumpkin king.

She couldn't even remember pranking her. She was just that boring.

And Shock wasn't really sure what to say when it came to family issues anyway. The only family she'd ever had was Oogie and the boys and her biggest problem with them was trying to get them to act serious or leave her alone.

"Sorry I must sound stupid huh?" Jason said. She quickly shook her head.

"No. Not really. We all have family issues." she jabbed a finger over her shoulder to where the crash of fighting was still noticeable.

"I guess so." he looked over at her, radiating curiosity.  
"So, um, where DID you three come from? I mean did you guys have parents or?" he asked.

Shock looked confused while inside she started screaming for him to let it go.

"Oogie's our dad. We don't have a mom or anything." she tried. Jason shook his head.

"No I mean, you guys aren't really related are you?" he asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

"Not by blood..." she risked. "I mean I don't think so at least... I don't really know."

"You don't know who you're family is? You never tried to find them or anything?" he looked at her amazed.

She turned away quickly and looked out the window.

It always bothered her when the townspeople asked get things like that.

Like she could somehow magically know. And that she was guilty for not.

"No."

"Why not?" he asked.

She knew he didn't mean to be prying. But it still bothered her to get asked the same questions.

At least those questions.

She sighed and stared out at the huge moon that was finally lowering itself to eye level.

"Because," she gave in. "If they didn't care enough about me to try to find me, or even if I was alright, then why should I care that much about them?" she kept going even though she could have stopped, just letting the words spill out without worrying whether they were respectful or expected.

"I have my own family now, Oogie and Lock and Barrel. And even if they're not the best family around at least they care about me." she closed her eyes in the pause that followed and let the memories wash over her again.

She felt her father's hands holding her and smiled fondly, for the brief second she dared loose sight of town, before opening her eyes again and turning back to the stunned skeleton beside her.

"So yeah. I come from the treehouse along with the rest of my family. And I don't care if you have a problem with that. Because it's true." she concluded.

The skeleton beside her opened his mouth too reply when a cry beat him to it.

"You three! Get over here NOW!"

Both Jason and Shock winced as the outline of a well dressed skeleton became visible through the tree.

She held her breath as he started to walk past, and a lack of noise from the back meant her brothers were doing the same.

This was what they'd been waiting for, the part of the plan that made it so different.

She slowly opened the door, careful not to let it creak, and eased a foot out.

Then another until she was ready to blot at the first sign of trouble.

Jack got closer still. And she held her breath about to spring.

And then she paused.

She realized she didn't actually want to leave Jason there. She turned back to him about to whisper run or something, anything, when Jack burst into sight running towards the bright car.

There was a set of cracks as Lock and Barrel took off out the back, and Jason turned, stunned to look just as Jack made it to the car.

The Pumpkin king reached over to yank the door open and then stopped as he saw his own son instead of the expected Shock.

"Jason?" he asked, disappointment and surprise filling his voice.

The two skeletons expressions were almost perfect mirrors Shock noted; and then instinct took over and she jumped out and took of running for town.

Lock would run home and Barrel would have headed for the woods she knew, but her best hiding place was the maze off houses.

She ran into town, slipping through the gate with her hat, and spun through as many corners as she could find.

Finally she came to a small side road and dove into an open box pulling the point of her witch hat down with her.

She was getting to big for hiding in corners now, and she hated too think that soon she'd have to find a new spot.

A sharp click of bone against gravel forced her to jerk back against the wall, where she huddled closer to herself and held her breath.

The footsteps stopped in front of her and she pulled her hat down even farther, until it nearly covered her eyes.

Suddenly a pair of bony hands grabbed her and lifted her out of box.

She and Jack were eye to eye now, and she was glad to know he couldn't pick her up any higher. He glared at her eyes narrowed to slits and a sharp grimace slid across his face.

"I _doen't_ want to EVER see you three around him again. Are we clear?" he snarled and Shock felt the cold fear in the pit of her stomach try to claw it's way out.

"Yes Jack." she nodded. With Oogie it was best to not agree, but with Jack it was usually faster to just get it over with.

She waited for whatever sentence he was about to inflict on her but instead he yanked her closer until she could see the back off his skull through his eyeholes.

"Especially you." he continued. "I don't care how much you three corrupt each other as long as you don't drag go dragging my Son into it!" his prize winning snarl filled her vision. She nodded quickly.

"Sure thing Jack. Whatever you say." she agreed.

"YOU leave Jason alone." he yanked her closer by the collar of her dress and she nodded terrified. "I don't know what Oogie's taught you, any of you, and I don't want to. I don't ever want to see you around him again." She nodded.

"I promise! We'll not bother him okay!" she shrieked. He let her go and she stepped back.

"Fine. I'm going to let you off with a warning." he sighed and rubbed his forehead "Because I'm busy right now and I don't have time to deal with you all. But if there's a next time..." he trailed off and let her imagination finish. She nodded one last time.

"We won't do it again." she promised. The anger left his face and he nodded swiftly.

"Good. Now hurry back, I don't want to have your brothers 'accidentally' blow up something _else_ while they're looking for you." he sighed and she rushed off as fast as her legs would carry her.

As long as her brothers didn't hear about this they'd practically worship her all week.

And, she mentally added, she was NEVER doing that again. No matter how much fun it was.

If Lock suggested it, she'd just strangle him.

* * *

The second Jack turned to chase after Shock, Barrel turned and started heading back towards the car.

He was pretty sure Jason would hate them now, but he still felt a kind of bad just letting him walk back alone.

He rushed after his ex-friend and saw how low his shoulders had dropped as he walked back towards town, head down.

"Hi Jay?" Barrel offered rushing to keep up with the skeletons wide steps.

"Hi Barrel. What's up?" he replied not looking up.

"I'm, kinda-sort of-maybe, Sorry you got in trouble because of us." Barrel muttered, kicking a rock away with his toe.

"We always scatter, and..." he stumbled in his words and wished for the millionth time he was his sister.

She could always explain away problems with a sentence or two.

Or the ever annoying Lock, who never had trouble getting words to come out of his mouth. Even if they wasn't any thought behind them.

"It's fine. I mean it was fun and that was the goal wasn't it?" the skeleton said. Barrel looked up at the boy in surprise.

"Really?" he asked.

He didn't understand why he wasn't getting yelled at, and until he did he was going to treat everything like a threat.

Jason smiled weakly and shrugged.

"Sure. I needed it. And it was totally worth whatever punishment Dad gives me."

Barrel smiled automatically; he was almost certain the lamp had hit one of them in the head.  
There was no way he wasn't dreaming this.

"So we're still friends?" he asked and mentally smacked himself.

He wasn't sure what he'd do if Jason said no.

There weren't any other options.

And no matter how much fun his siblings were, sometimes he needed someone who wouldn't hit him if they could get away with it.

There was no one else in town that would even talk to the youngest of the trio.

"I guess so." Jason smiled.

Barrel out grinned the skeleton boy.

"But just because I forgive you doesn't mean I'm going to get in even more trouble for dragging you back into town! Shoo!" he laughed and Barrel did a mock salute.

"Yes captain!" he laughed and Jason laughed back before they both started rushing home.

He was never agreeing to that again. No matter what his siblings would think.

Back at the treehouse Lock and Shock were waiting for him.

"Barrel settle this will you?" Shock ran over and grabbed her brother the second he let his foot touch the floor.

"Settle what?" he asked.

"Did we get in trouble?" She demanded.

"Yes!" Lock nodded. "Jack saw us so it counts."

"Did you get yelled at? No. So we didn't get in trouble. Right?" Shock demanded.

"She's right." Barrel sighed. He didn't really care about their stupid arguments. "Why?" he asked.

Lock glared at them both. "Fine. You little jerk."

Shock squeezed Barrel's shoulders and waved a finger teasingly at him, making an small disappointed noise.

"That's not very nice Lock!" she giggled. Barrel sighed and rolled his eyes.

Even if he was the youngest, he sometimes seemed to be the most mature.

"Fine." The devil boy growled and then forced a grin.

"Better?" he snarled. Shock grinned and patted her little brother on the back.

"Better." they grinned.

"So brother dear," Shock giggled fully equipped to take advantage of the situation.

"Since you have to be nice and polite to everyone for a few days, what do you say I just keep that plunger? You know? So you won't be tempted."

Lock snarled and leaped towards his sister, who was unfortunately right beside Barrel.

"GIVE IT BACK!" he screeched.

Barrel ducked instinctively.

"Don't hit me!" He howled.

He hated getting hit, whether or not it healed a few seconds later. Lock didn't even look at him.

"I said give it back!" he yelled.

"Lock..." Shock started.

"Now!" The maniac screamed.

Shock pointed at the nearest weaponry closet and shrieked. "There!"

Lock's heels dug into the floor as he tried to turn back to the door but slid on regardless.

Barrel reached around to pull out his lollipop for protection when Lock slammed into him.

"Get off me!" Barrel shrieked. Lock fought to get up and then dropped again.

"My foot! Shock untangle me!" he yelped.

Barrel felt his lollipop bend under his stupid brother and panic seized him.

Shock looked at them for a second. And then laughed.

"No. Serves you to right for fighting." She grinned and Lock turned as far around as he could.

Crushing Barrel's lolli even farther.

"Stop!" Barrel squealed. "Lolli!"

Lock stopped fidgeting much to the round little boys relief.

"Wait, you're making me nearly cut off my foot for a stupid lollipop?" The moron brother shifted again and Barrel nodded, ignoring the look his sister was giving him.

"Yes! I don't care about you're stupid foot! I love Lolli!" he wailed.

"Gee thanks. Good to know how important I am." Lock snarled.

Barrel considered his options.  
Angering the stupid little sadist wouldn't help, and if he made him an deal he might roll over anyway and break it. The pudgy little pudgy little boy picked his plan.

"You're not." Barrel stated.

"Shock untangle him." he demanded.

Shock tried to give him a look, he knew, but he couldn't see over his stupid brother.

"Why should I?" she giggled. Barrel's face twisted into a frown.

"I'll call Dad if you don't get him off me." he threatened.

Lock, ever the hopeless idiot, twisted around to look at him.

Lollipop bent a little more.

"You wouldn't dare..." Lock whispered. And then started turning a little more.

"OOG-" Barrel screamed and Shock's hands slammed over his mouth.

"Fine I'm going! I'm going!" she shrieked. And then there was a scrape of metal as she untangled the foot and Lock sat up.

"Better?" Lock sneered. "Is your stupid candy okay?"

Barrel glared at him and shoved the orange and black swirl into his mouth.

"Yeth." he mumbled. Both his siblings give him a strange look as he pulled the drool covered sugar stick out of his mouth and smiled appreciatively.

"That wasn't very nice Lock." Barrel grinned, fully satisfied now that his immortal lollipop was returned to him.

Shock turned to her brother grinning evilly.

"He's right Lock. Now let me see? What would be a good punishment?" she started.

Barrel sighed and stuck his lollipop happily back into his mouth and waddled away before his siblings noticed.

He wandered down the maze of passages that only he knew, climbing to a round little tube that he'd made when he was younger.

"Clear Dad." he muttered and listened to his voice echo around in the small metal tube before he squeezed in.

He'd always trusted his dad, at least more than his siblings, and sometimes when he couldn't take the constant fighting anymore he'd come down to talk to him.

"**You handled it?**" the large creature smiled knowingly and Barrel pulled out his lollipop proudly.

"Of course." he smiled.

Dad had taught him to handle himself, and more importantly how to handle his siblings.

"**One of these days I'm going to teach you how to _really_ fight.**" Dad looked at him disappointed.

Barrel shrugged.

He didn't really care; in his mind fighting was only important to morons like Lock.

**"**Maybe some other time." Barrel looked up to his father in every since of the word. But he didn't worship him like his brother.

It helped that Oogie had started teaching him things and not the others.

Sometimes they seemed almost random, but other times they were amazingly useful.

And that he always took the smaller boy's questions seriously.

The other two would laugh at him if he didn't know something simple, but Dad never had.

"**What then?**" his father asked, and Barrel frowned as he tried to think of how to say what he wanted to know.

"Dad," he tried. Oogie smiled at him and waved his mitt like hand impatiently to signal him to continue. "Why don't the townspeople like us?"

"**You blow them up.**" Oogie shrugged. Barrel watched the motion with awe, only Oogie could shrug with no shoulders.

Barrel shook his head though. That wasn't what he'd meant.

He'd known that much already.

"No, I mean even when we tried to be nice they always seemed..." he searched for a word and finally came up with an Oogieism.

"It was like we were playing a two different games on the same table." he concluded. "And no one knew who was playing what."

His father looked at him for a moment and Barrel fidgeted nervously.

It was probably a stupid question or he was just making it up, and Dad was trying to find a way not to come out and say it.

"**I was never sure myself when I was younger.**" his dad stood up off his skeleton throne and bounced a pair of dice absent-mindedly.

Barrel didn't believe for a second Oogie didn't know; years of trying to outwit the boogieman in him had left him firmly convinced his Dad knew everything.

And anytime he said he didn't; he was lying.

Barrel had started using the trick on his siblings as soon as he'd figured it out.

He felt a little disappointed his dad would try to use it on him now.

Then the giant sack continued.

"**It all comes down to how we think.**" he said. "**I'm only as bad as people think I am.**"

Barrel snorted in disbelief and his father smirked "**Within reason**."

"You could remurder everyone in town couldn't you?" Barrel smiled. His dad smiled.

"**If I put my mind to it. Probably.**" he sang the last word and Barrel shivered.

He hadn't meant for it to come out as a challenge. The was just bad with words.

Fortunately his dad shrugged it off and smiled at him again.

"**And if I did you'd have nothing to practice on.**" his eyes gleamed, in that way they did when he was talking about all the great things Barrel 'would' do.

"So why exactly do they dislike us?" Barrel pushed.

He didn't want to hear the familiar rant about how he'd make a great boogieman.

It always felt like a reminder there would be a life after Dad.

And Barrel didn't ever want to live that again.

"**Life's a game,-**" Oogie started.

"And we cheat?" Barrel guessed.

It seemed like something Dad would encourage.

Oogie smiled and leaned over to look him in the eyes.

"**Son, people like us don't cheat. We just play by a different set of rules. And everyone knows it.**" he smiled and Barrel met it face on.

He could believe it, or at least he could believe HE did.

He wasn't entirely sure the other two had enough brain power to think period.

"Did you here what I did today?" Barrel grinned and started to explain the day, with as little mentions of his siblings as possible.

That was one thing the red haired moron had gotten right; everyone loved to brag.


End file.
